Friday May 15th, Prescott AZ to Cottonwood AZ -44 miles
Today setup in theory to be a relatively modest day with one Mountain climb and short mileage to Cottonwood. It turned out to be a very memorable day for everyone - riders and staff both. The morning was innocent enough out of Prescott and subsequently climbing up Mingus Mountain to a SAG stop at 7023 feet elevation. Then the weather quickly turned, at first snow (the first time in 20 years of Crossroads that riders had ridden thru snow) and then to hard cold rain. The 15 minute descent down the mountain in rain turned out to be the scariest thing I've ever done on a bike. My hands were frozen with a death grip on both brakes as I rounded corkscrew turns and switchbacks. Not to mention a rough road in places, traffic, and little if any shoulder. Very scary and cold.
At the base of the mountain was a small really cool historic town called Jerome. Riders had prearranged to have lunch at the Haunted Burger. We arrived one by one, soaked and shivering. The kind staff fortunately brought blankets and hot tea. After everyone had warmed up with a meal we continued the remaining 10-15 miles in the rain to Cottonwood. Dinner was at Sizzler.
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| Beginning the ascent up Mingus Mountain |
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| Near the top |
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| At the top of Mingus in the snow, before a terrifying descent |
Your cousin Andi lives in Prescott in the summer.
ReplyDeleteJerome is a cool artsy town, and I am familiar with the long descent you talk about, I couldn't imagine doing it on a bike.
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